The city of Chicago's top attorney came to federal court Thursday to address concerns raised by a judge about a recent criminal background check that the city did on a juror who had already been questioned and seated for a police misconduct trial.

In the end, Corporation Counsel Mara Georges did not address the court, but U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly told her and other city attorneys that he will allow background checks on jurors in another police misconduct case pending before him only during jury selection, not after.

The unorthodox criminal check happened last week before another judge in federal court who was presiding over a civil trial in which a South Side family had sued the city and two police officers over an alleged false arrest and physical abuse. It took place on the trial's second day — after the jury had been selected.

Private attorneys representing the city said they became suspicious about a juror's demeanor and had city investigators run his arrest record. The check revealed that the juror had allegedly concealed an arrest history with Chicago police, and the judge in the trial removed him from the panel. He was one of only two African-American jurors on the panel. The remaining seven jurors ruled in the city's favor and didn't award any money to the family.

The incident drew sharp criticism from attorneys who represent citizens who sue the police over a variety of alleged misconduct. They argued the background checks were dangerous because they gave the city an unfair advantage because of its access to law enforcement databases as well as the opportunity to try to bounce jurors they fear might not be favorable to their side of the case.

Since the incident became public this week, motions to limit the checks have been filed in two other lawsuits against police, including the one in Kennelly's courtroom.

At a hearing Thursday in that case, Kennelly also expressed concern about the unfair access city attorneys had to police databases. He also said the timing of the checks mattered because of the opportunity "to wait and just run it on the people you don't like."

Jeffrey Granich, the attorney for the plaintiffs in the case in which the juror was dismissed as well as the one before Kennelly, applauded the judge's decision.

"I believe Judge Kennelly has closed the door on any ambush or 'waiting in the grass' tactics," he said.

Kennelly also acknowledged that it would be hard to bar any investigations of jurors, citing the public corruption trial of former Gov. George Ryan in which the Tribune reported during deliberations in 2006 that two jurors had withheld their criminal backgrounds months earlier during jury selection.

"Honestly, I think that ship sailed a long time ago … because of what happened in the George Ryan case," Kennelly said.

Outside the courtroom, Georges turned aside accusations that city attorneys would use criminal checks to bounce a juror they suspected was not on their side.

"In the other case, the bottom line is we had a lying juror," Georges said. "And I would like to think Mr. Granich would be as interested as we are in an objective jury."